<p>I wanted to get ahead in math so that I have more options my senior year (I'm a sophomore), so I wanted to take PreCalc over the summer. I was trying my local universities for PreCalc courses, but the only one that offered the course only had three people taking it, so it was canceled. Are there any online PreCalc courses that I could take over the summer?</p>
<p>Depends on how much money you want to spend - I think Keystone has one.</p>
<p>I’m taking Precalculus over the summer as a sophomore/incoming junior as well.</p>
<p>There are some options for online classes if you’re willing to pay. Florida Virtual School has one but I believe it runs about $850 for two semesters. Keystone also has one that runs about $400 for two semesters, so it’s a much cheaper option. I don’t have any experience with them, though, so I couldn’t tell you which one was better.</p>
<p>Personally, though, what I did, is I just talked to the Precalculus and Calculus teacher at my high school, and I rented a Precalculus textbook from the school over the summer. I am going to look it over and simply teach myself. It is definitely the cheapest option, but it might not work well for everyone if they’re not really good at independent learning.</p>
<p>I can just get a book?
So after the summer is over, would I just go into school and take the precalc final? Or could I just say “Hey, I learned PreCalc by myself so let me go into AP Calc.” and no final…</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure you can’t do that. depending on your schools’ rules…
thats like skipping Algebra 1 and trying to learn Algebra 2
even if they allow you to it just seems dumb</p>
<p>Talk to counselor.</p>
<p>you definitely would have to take a final at least…but it depends on school.</p>
<p>i’ve seen several kids skip straight ahead from alg 2 to calc, it can be done. But unless you’re good at math, i don’t recommend it, I’ve seen someone do this and end up doing quite poorly…</p>
<p>What I did was talk to my counselor first, and I told her that I had an interest in taking AP Calc next year, but I didn’t have any Precalculus background, so I would need to learn Precalculus during the summer to prepare myself. My counselor said if I was willing to put in the work, she would be fine with that. So she contacted the teacher who teaches both Precalculus and AP Calculus, and I told her the same thing I told the counselor. My teacher said it would be difficult, but if I was willing to do the work, she’s not going to hold me back, so she offered to loan me a Precalculus textbook over the summer. She was also really nice and gave me a lot of her notes that she gave to her current students throughout the year.</p>
<p>She’s going to test me first thing when we get back, and if I do adequate enough she said she’ll allow me in her Calculus class.</p>
<p>Are there not any community colleges near you that offer it?</p>
<p>My S2 is in same boat, he took Alg 2/Trig in freshman yr and he is going to Calc AB in sophomore yr. I am looking at something online which he can work on his own pace during the summer. I found Khan Academy online videos etc for precalc [Precalculus</a> | Khan Academy](<a href=“http://www.khanacademy.org/math/precalculus]Precalculus”>Precalculus | Math | Khan Academy) . Has anyone had experience with them ? Seems like its all free, but don’t know how much it covers and prepares for the CalcAB.</p>
<p>I’m in the exact same boat. I’m taking it at a local high school over the summer. Do any high schools around you offer it? I didn’t know of any until somebody told me about it.</p>
<p>@mwahal: The Pre-Calc covers a lot of good Pre-Calc-exclusive subjects - but make sure your son knows everything from the Algebra playlist as well - some schools don’t teach more advanced algebra topics in Algebra 2 such as conic sections, exponential growth/decay, logarithms, rational functions and matrices and instead would teach them in a Precalculus class. If your son can do everything in Khan Academy’s Algebra playlist, Precalculus playlist, and Trigonometry playlist - then he should be good to go.</p>
<p>@Rob1995 - excellent information. I have fwded it to my son. He has covered everything you mentioned in A2/Trig except matrices.</p>
<p>I see Khan Academy has some practice sheets but I think its not enough. Do you suggest any workbook etc I can buy to complement the video tutorials ?</p>
<p>Thanks
Mudit</p>
<p>Like I said above, what I did was rent a Precalculus textbook from my school and I’ve been using that. The lessons in my book aren’t the best in my opinion, but it does come with loads of practice problems which is great. Plus, the book goes over vectors - one of the few things that Khan Academy doesn’t really go over that might be taught in a Precalculus course.</p>
<p>So I apologize, I don’t know of any practice books to use - but if your son could rent a textbook from the school over the summer, that would be a great way to get your hands on a lot of practice problems, plus it’s another tool to have if you feel that Khan Academy doesn’t give an adequate enough explanation. Because just remember - even though Khan Academy is a phenomenal tool - it may not be for everybody. After all, I believe it was designed with the intent of being a supplementary tool and not so much a teaching tool, although it can certainly work as one if you have a dedicated enough student.</p>